Autumn 2016 in New Zealand event highlights

Published on : Thursday, January 21, 2016

With the arrival of autumn, New Zealand basks in some of its most settled temperatures and conditions while the landscape changes into burnished seasonal colours, making it an ideal time for international tourists.

From March to May visitors have free reign to explore at leisure, as Kiwis have gone back to work and school, leaving New Zealand an international visitor’s playground. Relax in one of the many picturesque vineyard wineries, feast on bountiful local delicacies, get actively involved in sporting events, or enjoy an arts or music festival – all while taking in the diverse and beautiful New Zealand landscape and sharing the experience with friendly locals.

Wairarapa Balloon Festival – Wairarapa

The 2016 Wairarapa Balloon Festival will be bigger and better than ever with the arrival of the festival’s newest special shapes – Owlbert, Eyenstein and Flighthouse. The five-day region-wide event showcases over 20 colourful hot air balloons and their masterful pilots. Balloons launch every day at dawn in a breathtaking display from locations near Masterton, Carterton and Greytown, including a spectacular night show, the Trust House Night Glow event.

Wairarapa Balloon Festival

La Verità, performing at the 2016 New Zealand Festival, is an experience that’ll have you gasping as much at its imaginative feats as its physical ones.PC-Viviana CangialosiNew Zealand International Arts Festival – Wellington

26 February – 20 March, 2016

The New Zealand International Arts Festival – a major biennial event in the world’s coolest little capital of Wellington – lets you live and breathe the arts through 300 different dynamic acts over 24 days. In 2016, the festival celebrates its 30th birthday by bringing more than 900 artists to fill Wellington’s theatres, galleries and streets with vibrant music, dance, visual arts, talks and tours. The festival also incorporates independent events such as the Wellington Jazz Festival, Lexus Song Quest, Shakespeare’s Globe Hamlet, and the much anticipated Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, from 18 – 21 February 2016.

New Zealand Festival

The Auckland Arts Festival is an 18-day arts extravaganza, spread across a city wide landscape and featuring over 900 artists. Since its inception in 1948, the Auckland Arts Festival has been a showcase of New Zealand’s unique cultural diversity. With over 200 free exhibitions across Auckland, the festival brings the city to life with a spectacular exhibition of dance, theatre, music and visual arts.

Auckland Arts Festival

Dunedin vibrates with artistic activity and creativity during the 10-day Dunedin Fringe Festival, the largest festival of its kind in the South Island. Known for featuring experimental and innovative art forms of all kinds, the 2016 festival is set to be bigger, brighter and better than ever as an estimated 200 artists from New Zealand and around the world showcase their unique talents.

Dunedin Fringe Festival

Set in the spectacular mountain terrain of New Zealand’s Southern Lakes, the Motatapu Speight’s 47km High Country Mountain Bike races through an off-road course only open to the public once a year. The race is a great mix of terrain to suit all mountain biking abilities with hills to climb, rivers to cross and a few steep descents thrown in the mix. The ride starts on the shores of Lake Wanaka and finishes at historic Arrowtown.

Motatapu High Country Mountain Bike

Crankworx Rotorua – the biggest mountain biking festival in the world – crowds watching the action on the Pump Track.PC=Clint Trahan9 – 13 March, 2016.Crankworx – the biggest mountain biking festival in the world – is returning to Rotorua in March 2016. The mountain bike season will kick off with five days of world-class riding and competition for the world’s best mountain biking pro-athletes dosed with concerts, culture and cranking. Rotorua is part of the Pump Track series, hosting Speed and Style, Slopestyle, Downhill and Enduro events. A raft of other events for amateur and non-bikers will include a music festival featuring top New Zealand artists.